Chicago police-shooting reports go online

Police-review panel puts officer-involved incidents on the Web

March 06, 2009|By Angela Rozas, Tribune reporter

The agency that reviews allegations of misconduct by Chicago police officers is posting results of its investigations of police-involved shootings online, the first time the reports have been made publicly accessible.

The agency on Thursday posted two 2007 cases it reviewed in which officers were found to have acted properly when they fired at citizens. In one case, an officer shot a robber, injuring him. In a second, several officers fired at a gun-wielding woman who fired shots at them, injuring three officers; the woman was killed.

The reports posted to the Independent Police Review Authority's Web site, www.iprachicago.org, detail the agency's investigation, including accounts from witnesses and the officers involved, but individuals are not named.

The posts are part of the agency's goal to make all of its investigations accessible to the public. A series of Tribune stories in 2007 exposed a system in which the department rushed to justify shootings, often by ignoring or excluding evidence that either called into question the officer's actions or showed inconsistencies in the officers' statements.

Ilana Rosenzweig, the agency's chief administrator, said Thursday, "Our intent is to be able to show the public what goes into an investigation and how the conclusion is reached.

"With transparency, you can have informed discussions about whether something is right or wrong," she said.